Nick has been blogging about the best Columbus breakfast places since 2007 at Breakfast With Nick. He has had all bases covered in terms of the best breakfast places for long enough to earn his reputation as THE go-to guy for all things breakfast.

Last night, at the stroke of midnight, marked the end of Kickstarter pre-sales of Breakfast With Nick | Columbus, a guidebook to breakfast. Shortly after, we had this conversation:

Do you ever skip breakfast?

No, I can’t. I have to have something to eat in the morning, or I can’t function. Usually it’s just a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee. But it’s got to be something.

How has the Breakfast with Nick blog changed your life?

That’s a very interesting question. Well, it married my writing skills and my general love of eating. Pretty odd considering I have advanced degrees in theatre history and dramatic lit (although I studied English and Communications in undergrad). It’s given me a handy outlet for exploring Columbus (and anywhere we travel). I’ve been able to get to know the city better and meet a lot of the great entrepreneurs and restaurant owners who make it so great. It’s also opened up a lot of opportunities: I get to write for different magazines and blogs, I appeared on national television in a documentary about breakfast (Breakfast Special on PBS!), and now I’ve written a book. About breakfast. None of this would have happened if I hadn’t started the blog as a hobby four and a half years ago.

Congratulations on your new book! Tell us about it.

Well, after years of doing the blog, I started talking with my wife Beth about writing a guidebook to breakfast in Columbus. We knew many of the best places and loved sharing them with visitors. And I always enjoy helping people discover a new place through the blog. So we started doing some research, even meeting with a breakfast blogger in Portland, Oregon (Paul Gerald of Breakfast in Bridgetown) who wrote a similar guidebook for Portland. We got advice from Lori Gum of Periodisa Publishing as well. Then last fall (of 2010), we approached our friend Robin Oatts of Genre Creative, to ask her about photographing and designing the book. My wife used to work with her, and we’ve always loved her work. She’s our go-to when we want pictures of our kids. We decided that we didn’t want to do the book without Robin, so once she agreed, we could move ahead. We started photography in March of 2011 and have been slowly chipping away at it ever since, taking pictures, interviewing owners, researching, etc. I finished writing in early September, and Robin’s been at work designing and arranging the printing. So now we’re marketing the book’s release, setting up signings, proofreading, and tweaking the final design elements. It’s been a very busy but rewarding process, especially getting to meet all the business owners, and getting to work with my wife and Robin on the project.

Your kickstarter.com project for pre-sales of Breakfast With Nick was a huge success! What has that experience been like for you? What bookstores are putting your book on their shelves?

Using Kickstarter was a fantastic experience. It’s a very slick and easy-to-use site. I highly recommend it for anyone who needs funding for a creative project. I’m really grateful to everyone who supported the project through Kickstarter. That’s what allowed us to get the book made.

We’re still putting together a list of bookstores and restaurants who will carry the book. As of this writing, we know that it will be available at The Book Loft, Whole Foods, and The Hills Market. Plus a handful of restaurants like Katalina’s Cafe Corner, DK Diner, and Cambridge Tea House will carry it. I’m going to keep an updated list of where you can find the book on my website.

I think they have their time and place. I love cereal. More often than not, that’s what I’m having for breakfast. Usually some form of Cheerios or Raisin Bran. My guilty pleasure is Fruity Pebbles. As for frozen waffles and toaster pastries… I don’t mind them so much, but there are much healthier breakfasts out there, so I generally don’t eat them. You can easily make much more creative and healthy things, like good old scrambled eggs and toast.

Hey, Nick, thanks for sharing this!

I highly recommend a visit to Breakfast With Nick to see the best collection of photos and stories about breakfast in C-Bus.